Wednesday, September 24

I've been pinged by a few of you asking "Are you ever going to blog again?"

Well, it's not an original excuse, but it's the truth. I've been busy! Truly busy. Not too busy to keep reading everything all of you are writing about, and occasionally comment. Just too busy to give blogging any real thought.

I've noticed a few of you doing a meme that was started by Avitable, and that I found over at Kapgar's. Maybe this will get my juices flowing to start writing again since I really miss it.

Here's my take on things...

My favorite age: 40 – truly the best year of my life… so far!My best friend:Stacie and Groove – sometimes they both know more about me than I know about me.

My celebrity crush: Sean Connery – yummy!

My defining characteristic: I’m told it’s my blue eyes.

My most evil moment: Do you think I’d honestly put that in writing? Those who were with me know, and they’ll never tell either.My favorite food: That’s a hard one. If I had to pick only one I’d say enchiladas, but any and all pasta comes in close second. My grossest injury: The bloodiest was when I sliced the tip of my finger off while shaving potatoes on a mandolin, but I think the bruise on my ass from slipping off the stairs going out my back door was the ugliest. My biggest hatred: People who whine, ask for advice and then never do anything to help themselves. My most illegal activity: I plead the 5th on this one.

My need for justice: What goes around, comes around. My most knowledgeable field: Having fun! My life's goal: To quote an unknown author, "Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."My mother's influence: Being inquisitive. My nerdiest point: Having the clothes in my closet sorted and grouped by color. My oldest memory: Coming home from my Grandmother’s house on Thanksgiving when I was 5 and finding that someone had broken in and turned the house “upside down” taking stuff. Didn’t sleep right for months.My perfect date: Date? What’s that? My unanswered question:Why with the power of the Death Star do we not have a tray that is fucking dry?My random fact: I haven’t been on an airplane in over 4 years. My stupidest decision: Quitting college to work full-time after getting my Associates degree. My favorite television show: Survivor. Season premiere is tomorrow! My style of underwear: VS thongs. My favorite vegetable: Corn – any form – and tomatoes. My weakest trait: I’m with Kevin on this one. Delegating tasks. I like to be in control. My X-men power: I know nothing about X-men, so I had to look this one up. I’ll go with telekinesis like Jean Grey.My strongest yearning: To live happy. My moment of Zen: Relaxing with friends.

Sunday, July 27

The past month has been a complete beeyotch, workwise. I spend nine to twelve hours a day working, most of those hours in meetings, and then trying frantically to catch up with all the work that didn't get done during the aforementioned snooze sessions. By the time the weekend rolls around I'm faced with mountains of household chores that need done, a yard turning into a jungle, and a little man that wants to suck up as much time with his "old, fun" mommy as he can.

One of the yearly requirements for all employees of The Winnebago is to complete a series of mandatory training. They make it very convenient for us by providing the classes on-line so we can do them whenever, and wherever, we find the time. Time is the one thing I don't have nearly enough of, so... Do you see the problem here?

The other day management sends us a gentle reminder to complete our classes that reads something like this:

"...if not already completed, please work on the mandatory training. I findtaking them during boring meetings kills two birds with one stone."

Uh, okay. So what you're saying is we shouldn't need to pay attention in the meeting therefore nullifying our need for attending in the first place? Okay, yeah!

For the record, I won't be getting to any of those "mandatory trainings" anytime soon. In fact next week, I won't be getting to very much work at all. I am taking a few hours off (I say hours cuz I'll still be monitoring email periodically and attending required meetings) to spend some much needed girl time with her majesty. She'll be here in two days. W00t!!

We've kept the schedule pretty open at this point but I can assure you there will be a lot of Rock Band/Guitar Hero playing, beer drinking, movie watching, pool playing, yakking, smoking, visiting the carnies, eating, shopping and otherwise girlish fun for 5 straight days. Because when the working day is done, oh girls... they wanna have fun. Oh girls, just wanna have fun!

Saturday, July 12

It's been awhile since I've done a good meme and found this one floating around. Hell, I might have already done it before, but if it's about tunes, it's always worth doing... even if it's for a second time.

Open up iTunes, if you have it (if not, improvise), and answer the following questions:

How many total songs?423 songs, 1.1 days, 1.70 GB (I don't store all my tunes in iTunes, so there's LOTS more I just haven't imported)

Sort by song title - first and lastA*****e Father, Sick Puppies, Dressed Up As Life(You Want To) Make a Memory, Bon Jovi, Lost Highway

Sunday, July 6

It's been a holiday weekend full of fun, friends, food, fireworks, Rock Band frenzy and film! A much needed break from the chaos of working life, to be sure.

Friday afternoon just before we headed across the street to our friends' for a BBQ, I asked the little man if he wanted to bring his new Guitar Hero III with us. It was one of the games he got for his birthday and hadn't tried out yet, so we scooped up the unopened box, our food, bevvies, camera and whatever else we needed and headed across. After some yummy snacks (while the ribs, yum, were cooking) the kids went and set up the game.

While having fun, it's kinda hard to play Guitar Hero III with only one guitar and three kids. I headed back to the house to retrieve the guitar from Rock Band in hopes it would be compatible. Not. So. Much. After dinner, diappointed that the guitars weren't working together, I asked the son to help me grab the remainder of Rock Band. (I'd been told the guitar from Guitar Hero worked with Rock Band - still not sure why it doesn't work in the reverse?).

Even the adults got in on it!

(You'll have to pretend there's a video here since Blogger was being a beeyotch and wouldn't load it.)

We finally found the perfect mix of talents for our band - friends' son on lead guitar, little man on bass, me on the drums, and friends' daughter singing. We played and played for hours until it finally got dark enough to head outside for the fire works (if you could really call them that considering our city banned all fireworks a few years ago). Sorry for the crappy pics but my camera was out of battery so I had to use my Blackberry.

Saturday afternoon the little man and I finally went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I have to say though it wasn't one of my favorite of the bunch, it was still good and I'm happy we saw it on the big screen rather than waiting for the DVD.

When we got home there was a voicemail from our friends inviting us over for pie. We'd discovered the pie we tried to eat the night before was still raw in the middle despite it supposedly being a fully cooked, ready to eat pie from Safeway. But in true Safeway fashion, when they returned the pie yesterday, they were given a new one (with apologies) and this time it was fully cooked and yummo! After pie and ice cream I asked if anyone was up for another round "road trip" (aka round of Rock Band) and we headed back to our house for more frenzy.

Sunday, June 22

As I was trying to clean up my inbox this morning I realized that there's only one word to describe me these days. Slacker!! That's right. Complete and total slacker on anything that doesn't have to do with work, my kiddo, and/or the necessities of life.

I found two sets of questions that I never answered. Oy! Sorry girls. Here's the Q&A for the final round of Remember me?

Hilly wants to know:1. What do you think of Angelina Jolie?DSL, baby! DSL!!!

2. When did you last eat a cupcake?Ummm... maybe a year ago? Sad, I know.

3. Boxers or Briefs? (on men) Why?Boxers. They leave a little something to the imagination.

4. What did you last buy that made you happy?A piece of artwork in celebration of my previous, tumultuous three years.

5. What's your favorite time of the day?First thing in the morning, when the kiddo's still sleeping, and I'm hanging out, waking up, and trying to keep up with all you verbous bloggers.

6. How would you teach the world to sing?In perfect harmony?

LOL

I used to sing (in public) when I was younger, and I've been told that my voice doesn't totally suck, but I seriously doubt anyone would want me teaching anyone, let alone the world, to sing.

7. Whom would you most like to get drunk with?Stacie. I'm trying to help her come out of her shell!

Tuesday, June 17

Disclaimer: Please do not lecture me on the dangers of smoking. This post is not meant to endorse anything. I am simply sharing what I think is humorous. If you can't read this and laugh along with me, you've got bigger problems than I do.

Groove spent the weekend in Canada, much like he does a couple of times a year. Fun was had by all, from what I've been told.

Along his trip, despite my persistence that he wasn't packing enough cigarettes to last the trip, he found himself without and was forced to track down a pack or two at one of the out of the way liquor stores that sell the product that shouldn't be in the public view of children. Don't believe me? Look at the proof.

My very own pack of smokes from Canada, complete with the following warning from Health Canada:

Depends on what your definition of a road trip is. If it's just driving for longer than an hour or so away from home, then it was the middle of last month when I went to Oregon. Otherwise I guess I'd have to say it was March '01 when I moved to WA from Arizona.

3. Skiing or rock climbing? Why?

I really wouldn't pick either, but I'll take skiing. Keeping my feet on the ground sounds better than dangling in mid air.

4. What did you want the most for Christmas as a kid?

A 10-speed bicycle. I finally got one right before going into the 6th grade and promptly told my parents to keep it since I was also told the reason they'd finally bought me one was because I was being sent to a new school that was further away.

LOST? What is this LOST you speak of? I know I've been missing for awhile, but I had no idea they'd created a finale about it.

2. When did you last get a pedicure?

Um... never. In case I haven't already mentioned it before I have a foot phobia. Now, let me just say that doesn't keep me from putting on my "party toes" during the sandal wearing season (are we ever going to have one out here this year?), but the idea of someone else touching my feet. Ewww!!!

3. Chocolate or Vanilla? Why?

Definitely chocolate. There is no other choice.

4. What did you do on Sunday?

This past Sunday I got up, read through blogs (yes, I still read even though I don't post or comment much), yakked with Stacie for a bit, put away some laundry, washed some more laundry, talked to my Dad, showered, watched NASCAR, went to the grocery store, played hide-n-seek out front with the little man and all the other neighbor kids, made dinner, checked work email, then vegged out in front of the TV.

5. What's your favorite pizza topping?

Honestly I don't have a favorite. There's truly one two things I won't eat on a pizza - anchovies and cashews.

6. How would you explain a prolonged absence without really giving anything away?

There's this thing called work. It pays my bills. It keeps me working strange hours. It's even been known to make me think once or twice. And... it's definitely gotten in the way of my personal computer time. And then there's this other thing about taking a break and not really posting much of anything of personal nature because snooping eyes (you know who you are) like to read about it.

Oh, I'm in NO way thinking of quitting my job since I've worked very, very hard to get it and hold on to it, but... if I was going to quit, it'd depend on the circumstances. I pretty much don't like to leave a place in a bad way just in case I ever need to go back to them for whatever reason, but in my wild imagination I'd walk up to everyone I've ever thought was a moron and tell them directly to their faces.

Quite the imagination, eh?

7. Whom would you most like to meet?

You.

Hehe! Okay, you and a bunch of the other bloggers I've gotten to know over the past few years. I just never seem to be able to make any of the meet ups that are scheduled either because of work, lack of funds, or whatever.

Monday, June 2

I know it's been months since I've posted anything. What can I say? I've been busy? I've not had anything to write (bullshit)? I've been a slacker (mayhaps!)? Whatever.

It's not that I don't think of posting, I just don't do it. But when I saw Chag's Libs I figured I'd throw one out there for myself on the off chance there's still anyone who checks up on me periodically to see what I think.

With that said, here you go. Leave a comment filling in the blanks to the questions and I'll answer them in a future post. Whatever you want. Within reason, of course.

Sunday, April 13

It's that time of year again. Time to start the official birthday countdown, that is. In four short days I will officially be forty and twelve-months of age. Why 'forty and twelve-months' instead of forty-one?

I am mourning the loss of my fortieth year! Seriously!!

With all its ups and downs (those things I didn't blog about) it was a mighty fine year, indeed. I had some pretty big shake-ups in my life and worked through all of them, one at a time. It was a year of growth, self-realizaton, and freedom. But I'm not ready to move on from saying "I'm forty!"

When I'm 85 and tooling down the nursing home hallway trying to escape being knocked over I'll still be saying "I'm forty and one-thousand and twenty months!" Not sure if I'll be able to remember how to calculate that. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Thursday, April 10

Saturday, March 29

Well lookie here! Just when you think you've made the decision to go into hibernation and contemplate shutting things down permanently someone (Kevin) goes and gives ya a damned award. (Did the check arrive yet, Kev?)

Seriously, thanks buddy for thinking of me! I wouldn't have thought to give one to myself, so I'll thank you for doing it for me.

Now for the rules of the award:

Identify the originator of this award, and link so (s)he can get his well-deserved traffic. Again, that would be my buddy Kevin, blog writer extraordinaire over at kapgar.

Pass on at least 10 Excellent Blog Awards.

So now it's time to pay it forward. Ten blogs? Hmm! It's not going to be hard to pick 10, it's just finding 10 that haven't already received the big E. Alrighty... here we go in no particular order cuz I luv them all equally.

There ya have it. If you're not on my list it doesn't mean I luv you any less, so don't send the hit squad over just yet. And if you haven't checked out these eggscellent bloggers, do. They keep me laughing and smiling and thinking with every post.

Wednesday, March 26

Tuesday, March 18

A MEME IN PICTURES (stolen shamelessly from Hilly & Karl)Here’s how it works:1. Go to www.photobucket.com2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box3. Use only the first page4. Insert the picture into your Blog

Thursday, February 21

Because I'm a total slacker as of late, but mostly because I doubt I could top this one, enjoy a repost from last year in honor of Groove's birthday. And as last year, feel free to leave him lots of birthday wishes and sloppy kisses here. He really likes them sloppy kisses! Hehe!

So without further ado, Ode to My Friend Groove. Luv ya!

Your name is Grooveand you often act rude,except for the timesyou feel the need to be lewd.

You're evil and silly,and smart as a whip,but one thing's for certainyou don't take any shit.

The tough act you flauntmakes everyone stare,so I won't let them knowyou're a big teddy bear.

You've given me guidance,support, and laughing fits,and rained piss on my "party"when I'm down in the pits.

So, today, on your birthdayI just want to say,you're a friend to the end.Go have fun... and get laid.

Saturday, February 2

I love getting presents! Especially surprise presents that come in the mail. There's nothing better than opening the mailbox to find a key to one of the bigger lock boxes and know you didn't order something, yet there's a box waiting for you. The kind that contain something personal - a luxury just for me. I had one of those surprise packages waiting for me yesterday. (I'm sure it was actually there on Thursday, but since I completely had the DAY FROM HELL that day, I never bothered to stop and check for mail.)

When we FINALLY got home last night after making countless stops to pick things up on the way home - trust me, DO NOT plan errand running on a Friday evening - I grabbed the mail, and my surprise package, unloaded the car, put everything away, checked email, and got on the phone. Never even opened the box. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

Around 8:30pm my mother calls. "Did you get the box I sent, or did the USPS lose it?"

I told her it was here but I hadn't opened it yet. She couldn't understand what in hell I was waiting for. Frankly, neither could I, but as I mentioned, I'm weird like that. So she pushes and says "Go open it now." {sigh} If I must.

Sometimes my mom's pushing and prodding drives me crazy but was I ever happy she pushed me to open the box. Take a look what was inside.....

Wednesday, January 30

I was tagged last week by Jenny at stickyfeathers for this thinking challenge. To get the blah blah out of the way, here's the rules..... Write a blog post about thinking differently. Let them know it's part of the Think Different Challenge and include a link and/or trackback to this post. At the end go ahead and tag some fellow bloggers. Don’t forget to let them know they've been tagged.

Wow this is a tough one! At the ripe old age of forty my opinion meter is pretty well stuck on most subjects. I’ve sat here running through things I might be able to think differently about and am really stretching on this one. Don’t know that I can actually pull it off, but it’s worth putting in writing I suppose.

The thing I’d like to start thinking differently about is me. That’s right, me. I am totally my own worst critic (I think?). I’m pretty damned hard on myself and hold myself to a much higher standard than I do anyone else. Why is this? Was it the way I was raised? Was there some turning point in my life that I can’t quite pin down? Who the hell knows, but I’m willing to examine it and give it shot, so here goes.

The physical meOne would think after working hard to lose a whopping 45 lbs. I’d have a better self-image. One would be wrong. Any time I look in the mirror I find something, and more times than not multiple something(s), to criticize. From my muffin top to my hair to my double-chin, all are open targets. And I won’t even tell you how disgusted the wide load I carry on the back side makes me. I want to start looking in the mirror and seeing the positive, the progress I’ve made, and not worry so much about what’s left to work on.

The emotional meI’m a worrier. I worry about anything and everything. Sadly many of my worries are things that are out of my control, such as problems my friends are facing that the intellectual side of me knows I can’t fix but the emotional side wants to. I want to continue to be as supportive as I can but stop sweating what I know I cannot change. Maybe this will help with my erratic sleep cycle?

The intellectual meHaha! What intellectual me? See, there I go criticizing myself again. I’ve never claimed to be the sharpest crayon in the box but I’m certainly not the dullest either. For years I’ve beat myself up for not finishing my college degree. I know, it’s never too late, yet right now I really can’t see (read as “afford”) finishing it. I want to stop using it as an excuse for not finding that ideal job. I want to use the brain power I know I harness for bettering myself. I just wish my brain wasn’t always so tired.

So there you have it. I want/need to start thinking differently about me. Let’s see what these people want to think differently about…

Monday, January 28

I have no idea if this is actually going to post correctly or not. If it does, yay me! If not, a little later today I'll find somewhere to host the video and repost this.

This is our snow day today. Not much snow, but enough to get in a little sledding. I'm also going to update my Flickr site with the few pics I took. With any luck we'll get more tonight and be able to repeat today's (no school, no work) fun. Enjoy!

Sunday, January 27

Do you know how long it took me over the past two days to catch up on reading and commenting on all your blogs? Damn! How the hell are you all so prolific throughout the week? By the time I get home from work, take care of reviewing/working on homework, figure out what sustenance we'll be having and make said sustenance, make whatever phone calls need making, and get the little man off to bed, my brain just can't handle writing or most nights even reading everything posted out there.

Today's Sunday Sweep is pretty much gonna be an update of last weeks Sunday Sweep, cuz that's pretty much been my week. So, if you haven't read last weeks spoutings you might want to go now so you have some sort of clue what I'm talking about.

Precariously perched on the fence (update)Wednesday night was the meeting with the school accreditation team. Sadly I'm still sitting on that fence and after having read through the 115 page self study yesterday have more than two pages of notes on subjects I need to have more information on. Apparently the accreditation team didn't feel the same need for more info as they told us at the end of the meeting they were "very impressed" and would be putting in their recommendation for accreditation. Don't get me wrong, I want the school to be accredited, but I really want it to be accredited for the right reasons - like we deserve it - rather than because we didn't really let the cat out of the bag and made ourselves look like we're something other than we really are. Is that too much to ask?

My biggest pet peeve of the night shares my biggest pet peeve for the school community in general - only a handful of parents felt it worthwhile to show up. From what I was told, twenty-five parents were invited to attend this meeting. Guess how many bothered. Four. Well, actually five if you count the husband of one of the four who I'm sure wasn't invited since they were only having one representative per family of those families that were invited. Anyway, besides us five there was the PA president (also a parent, but representing the PA), one board member, and a teacher (also a parent, but she already had her say when the staff meet with the accreditation team earlier in the day so WTH?). What a sad way to represent the school! Not surprised though since we pretty much have less than 10% of the school community involved and carrying the weight of the other 90% each and every year anyway. Still. Gah!

So what am I going to do about all of this rather than just sitting her complaining? Well, I'm still trying to figure that one out it its entirety but to start I plan on filling in the blanks for all the questions I have from the notes I made. A few weeks ago I was thinking of maybe running for a board position, except 1) I'm not sure there are any open board positions to run for this year, and 2) the board is pretty much the least liked group at school, except by the group of superficial blindfold wearing lemmings. Have any of you sat on a board of directors before? What was your experience? Was it school related or other? I did note they presented a notion of creating a parent action committee to develop a financial plan for the school over the next few years. I'm thinking this would serve me, and the school, much better so for now I'm gonna get more info on that one and see what comes of it. Not throwing the BOD idea totally out the window yet, though, so if you've got any input, please let me know.

Schooldaze (update)I know most of you chose option #7 during last weeks discussion, and while I really wanted that option too and hate to disappoint, I went with option #4 instead. On Tuesday afternoon the little man and I went to visit the principal. I started off the discussion with a basic "this is why we're here" and then let him do all the talking from there. As I would expect, she made notes while she talked to him, explained her course of action (talking to the recess duty people, and then talking to the little shit himself), then following up with my little man later in the week. Per the little man, he visited her office again at the end of the week and she said she'd done all of the above. I assume she must have done something cuz the little shit hasn't bothered my little man all week. She also said she'd email me with an update (this part I haven't seen.....yet) so all in all we're on the right track. Good not only for the safety of my child but good dry run of our new bullying and harrassment policy.

Funny aside on the little shit: He's apparently having a birthday party next month and has invited all the boys he routinely picks on every day. Uh, yeah! Going to the party? Notsomuch.

Daddy, they're on the way (update)Quick update on my Dad. The doc says he's got prostate cancer. My poor dad! I swear if it's not one sickness/ailment/disease it's another. The good news (if there is such thing when talking about cancer) is it's at the T1 stage (which for those of you who don't know cancer like I know cancer means it's the level right after pre-cancerous). Anyway, due to his medical history and age, the doc won't do surgery and has given Dad a month to make a decision on three or four other courses of action including radiation and pretty much doing nothing at all. So far he seems to be okay with the news, all things considered. Keeping those positive vibes, thoughts and magic wand waving going for him is certainly appreciated.

So there you have it, the updates from the week. Over the past week I've been tagged by Jenny and Nicki, so you'll see those coming up this week. Other than that not much going on. Watch, now that I said that all hell's gonna break loose.

Enjoyable "saying good-bye to January and welcoming February al-freakin-ready" wishes to you all!

Saturday, January 26

You know I always have you, my readers, best interests at heart, so today I find it crucial to pass on this very important PSA you should all be aware of.

Do you find yourselves driving a daily path and suddenly noticing something new along the way, then question yourself about how long it's really been there and why you haven't noticed it before? Maybe you're one to be walk through a parking lot and not notice others coming and going because you're busy talking to someone, or thinking about something, or heading where you need to go? Do you sit in your cubicle (or office) at work with your back to the doorway and not notice when people come in and sit down waiting to talk to you?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you too could be suffering from SAD (Situational Awareness Disorder). A recent study was released* discussing the causes and known side effects of SAD. The study noted most people living with SAD don't even know they have it. And those who discover they're suffering from SAD have a difficult time accepting it. I was one of those unfortunate few until the study opened my eyes, and I now accept my SAD situation and work daily to improve it.

To better illustrate how SAD quietly takes over and rules your life, I'd like to share with you some of my personal SAD experiences. These may be difficult for some of you to read since they will most likely hit close to home, and it has taken me several months to get to the point of accepting I suffer from SAD. Just remember I'm concerned about your well being and hope you will read the situations carefully, analyze your own situations, and be honest with yourself. It's the first step in the healing process.

SAD Situation #1: The Office - As many of you can probably relate, my desk is situated such that the opening to my cubicle is at a 90 degree angle to where my monitor sits, a 180 degree angle to where my phone sits, and my visitor chair sits directly behind my chair, completely obstructed from my direct line of vision.

One afternoon, several months ago while on the phone and concentrating on the conversation at hand, I was absorbed in looking back and forth at printed reports on my desk and other data on my monitor. As the conversation ended and I went to hang up the phone, I nearly fell out of my chair and let out a little squeal as I felt something (or in this case someone) simultaneously poking both of my sides. As I would discover, it was Groove. He'd walked in, sat down in my visitor chair and patiently waited for me to finish my conversation completely unbeknownst to me.

This was my introduction to SAD though I was completely unwilling to admit it at the time.

SAD Situation #2: The Interstate - Most every day, and most every time of day, the portion of the Interstate I travel is congested. Obviously watching traffic is a major concern. The secondary concern - watching for law enforcement. Because of these two neccessities I find it difficult, if not impossible, to notice much that isn't directly in front of me. So when something new is added - such as a pole with a camera watching traffic flow and presumably recording speed as it is placed immediately before the "speed trap" area - I rarely notice.

Thankfully I have friends who don't suffer from SAD to keep me informed of these situations. However, a well noted side effect of SAD is this - even when informed of a situation, and repeatedly reminded, you still may be completely situationally unaware.

Note: I still haven't seen said pole (even though it's been mentioned multiple times in the past few weeks) and have not, as of this report, been caught in the "speed trap".

SAD Situation #3: The Parking Lot - Generally speaking I am, what I'd like to consider, at my peak of awareness when walking through a parking lot. Apparently my peak is comparable with others valleys.

Walking out to the front parking lot at work the other day, Groove and I stopped to chat. A few minutes into the conversation he turns to me and asks, "Which security guard just went into the building?" I looked at him with those deer-in-the-headlights eyes and asked "What security guard?"

I'd seen people walking though the parking lot. I'd even noticed my friend Karen walking into the building and could tell you exactly what she was wearing though I'm sure that's because I'd already seen her several times that day and had absorbed the information earlier, but I hadn't seen the security guard at all.

It was inevitable and time to finally admit to myself. I am suffering from SAD. Looking back with the knowledge I now have about SAD and how it controls your life, I realize I've been suffering from this disorder for much longer than I ever realized. Are you? Don't be afraid to admit it. Acceptance is the first step to recovery.

*The study revealed in this PSA, and all other information provided on SAD (Situational Awareness Disorder), is in no way, shape or form professional medical information and has not been researched, authorized or reported by any professional medical personnel that I know of.

Sunday, January 20

How do the weeks seem to roll by so quickly these days? I swear the days are shorter or else I'm just moving slower and being a big fat lazyass. Nah, it's gotta be the days are shorter. Right? Whatever. Here's the latest edition of Sunday Sweep - all the random crap from the past week that's probably not blog worthy anyway but I still want to yak about.

I hate my jobYep, you heard me right. I hate my job! Anyone reading this from where I work - you KWIM! It's not the job, per se. It's the way the show is orchestrated. Complete lack of planning on someone elses part DOES NOT, and never will, constitute an emergency on mine. I'm so tired of running in circles and jumping through hoops for these people, especially when you find out your boss is totally badmouthing you to a coworker. Yeah, coworker that heard it was the one who turned around and told me about it. Hah! Stupid bitch. My boss, not my coworker. At least I only have a couple more months of the bullshit unless I can find something else earlier and leave a pile of shit for them to figure out without me there to hold thier hands.

Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking...It's time to kick the job search into high gear.....again. As previously noted, not only do I hate my job, but the clock on my contract is rapidly ticking to an end. See, I told you the days were shorter, and you didn't believe me, did you? The one thing I hate even more than my job is looking for a job. Some of you may recall last year's job search. Ten excruciatingly long months of it. I swear if I have to go through that again I'm gonna string myself up from the ceiling fan this time. I am so tired of being told I'm "over qualified" for the jobs I'm applying for. Jesus Christ! Bring me in, let me do the job, and then we can talk about whatever the hell else I can do for you! Don't just discard me like an old slipper because you don't think I won't stay around for long.

Precariously perched on the fenceAdding to my already full schedule, next week I'll be attending a meeting at school. I am one of who knows how many parents who were invited to meet with the accreditation visiting team during their visit next week. This should prove to be a very interesting and entertaining evening, to say the least. With the drama of last year still fresh in many parent's minds, I'm sure the "hand picked" collection of parents being "cordially invited" to meet with the visiting team will be none other than the superficial blindfold wearing lemmings that constitute a good majority of our school community. It's been mentioned that the visiting team will not lead the discussion or discuss and questionable subject that they may have insider information on until it is broached by one of the parents. This leaves me with a rather ominous decision to make - bite my tongue and listen, or speak my mind and be heard. I have no idea what I'll do, and don't plan on making any discision until the opportunity presents iteslf. Or I present the opportunity. Heh!

SchooldazeIn addition to the accreditation meeting, I need to talk to someone (though still undecided who) about a subject I'm a little more familiar with these days than I care to be - bullying and harrassment. The offender: a snot nosed, second grader in my little man's class. The offense: Repeated bullying and harassment of my little man AND several of the other kids in the class, though I'm only going in on the little man's behalf and the rest of them are gonna have to wait until their parents step up to the plate and say enough is enough. I know "boys will be boys" and all that crap, and I'm all for letting kids "work it out", however when I hear about the same shit happening over and over and over again and don't see anything being done about it. It's time to lay the smackdown! Aimee's going through a similar situation with her little guy, albeit not in the bullying and harrassment realm but in the indiscretions of a teacher, and her list of what to do is very similar to mine.

1. Talk to the parents of the little shit.2. Talk to the teacher.3. Talk to the recess duty people.4. Talk to the principal.5. Talk to the Policy Action Team.6. Talk to the PA/BOD.7. Scare the crap out of the little shit.8. All of the above.

I know which one I'd like to do. Yeah, probably not the best choice in this situation. So now I'm struggling with which way I'll go with it. I can explain away each and every one of those options and frankly don't think a damned thing will come of this whichever way I turn, but NO ONE bullies my little man and gets away with it. Not on my watch!

Sheesh! I guess I had a lot more to say than I thought I did when I first sat down to write. I just want to thank all of you who commented, emailed or called me with support for my Dad's procedure last week. So far he's doing well and we're all just waiting for results day to get here.

Go now. Enjoy the last few hours of your weekend. And GO PACKERS!!! What? I gotta root for someone now that my boys threw their chance in the toilet.

Friday, January 18

Thank whatever power you believe in it's Friday! This has been the longest week.

Thanks much to those of you who were sending good juju my Dad's direction! He called last night when they got home and said the procedure went fine. Now he gets to wait until the 24th to go back for the results. What ever happened to doctors phoning results home? Why do we always have to go back to their office for another visit to hear the results? Stupid!

Okay, I'm still tired and a little bit grumpy about some other stuff, so since I've said what I really came to say, that's it for now. Maybe I'll come back and tell you about my day later; maybe not.

Thursday, January 17

Just a quick one to ask you for some positive vibes, thoughts, magic wand waving, or any other special talent you have and want to share be directed towards my Dad this afternoon when he goes in for an outpatient surgical procedure. Because of his heart condition, surgeries - outpatient or not - are always a little bit more difficult to prepare for, have and recover from.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll update tonight on how the support helped. Oh, by the way, he's in California so that you know which direction to aim for.

Tuesday, January 15

I'm a cheapskate and a cheap date, so I've been told, but that's another story! I come by it honestly, though. When I was younger my mother and I used to joke if you opened my father's wallet moths would fly out. Okay, so the joke is missed on most of you youngsters out there, but those in my generation understand what I'm saying.

I'm always looking for a deal. And the best deal out there is FREE, as witnessed by the coupon I found for shipping on my recent Victoria's Secret splurge. Some things you just can't be cheap about! For the most part, I scour the stores looking for items I need/want for the best possible price. This includes anything from household products and groceries to clothing and shoes. If the price isn't right I won't buy it. It doesn't matter if I have a few extra bucks burning a hole in my pocket, or if someone sends me gift cards to frivolously spend on indulging myself; my cheapskate radar is always on.

Evidence of my recent cheapness can be found in my closet. Let's take a look, shall we?

A shopping trip right before Christmas uncovered these cute Union Bay pants at Khols: $8

The New Year's Day shopping trip rewarded me with this adorable black sweater at Macy's: $12.90

I tell you I really am the Queen of Cheap*! Just look at my slippers if you don't believe me.

My poor comfy, warm bootie slippers are dying a slow painful death. But I've remedied that! Packing tape to the rescue!! If I could have found my duct tape I would have certainly used it, but alas the old standby was available.

Why do I stoop to such levels of cheapness? I'll tell you. Replacement of my $20 purchase two years ago of my favorite comfy, warm bootie slippers can only be remedied if I am willing to part with $60-70 of my hard earned money.

Not happening.

*Royal tiara not included because I priced them.....and they cost too much.

Sunday, January 13

It's time again for another Sunday Sweep! What a random week this turned out to be. Whatever happened to having a "regular" work week without chaos? I was truly looking forward to getting back to work after the holidays and having some sort of normalcy in the schedule. Yeah, right! Not last week.

Ice: Monday morning brought massive ice to our area, though it wasn't apparent until I actually got out there on the roads. We started off to school and once realizing the roads were a mess I started second guessing if I should have watched the weather report to see if there were any school closures or delays. By now we were halfway to school so I figured I'd might as well keep going. They were there.....so far, so good. After dropping off the little man it was time for me to snake my way across town to the Interstate. We live in an area where there is just no easy way to get to the Interstate - good or bad weather. Deciding to take the heavier traveled roads in hopes the city had sanded and the ice wasn't as bad was a good idea. But arriving at the top of the hill that takes me down to the basin where I hop onto the Interstate I determined there was no way I was going to keep going. Traffic was backed up all the way up the hill, and then some, and the radio was reporting an accident between my "hop on" and "hop off" points. At the last possible road I turned off and snaked my way back home for a few hours to wait on the thaw out.

Snow: Tuesday morning was only better in the fact you could actually see what you were contending with before stepping foot out the door. Snow. This time I had the news on and scoured the local news sites on the internet for delay notices. At 6:30am our school district finally posted a 2 hr late start - right around the time the snow stopped falling. Figures. Even worse than the snow was the rain that started immediately after turning the roads into a slushy mess and squelching any hopes of taking advantage of the delay and playing in the snow before school/work. Ah the joys of living in the Pacific Northwest! Making matters worse as the morning dragged on I started feeling like total crap. Upset stomach, slight headache, and overall feeling like shit didn't sit well for spending a day at the office, so after dropping off the kiddo I turned around, came home, and slept. And that's all I did for the next 3.5 hrs. At 2:10pm I got my lazy ass out of the recliner and made a cup of tea. Two sips later my cell phone rang. It was the school. The little man had thrown up (in the bathroom, thankfully!) and I headed out to pick him up. Not really sure what either of us had/were fighting but the rest of the night went by without racing to the toilet, and after a long and solid night's sleep, we were good as new the following morning.

They're just words: Speaking of toilets, as witnessed on many of my posts (including this one) I have a potty mouth. For the most part, I try to temper my mouth around the little man. Do I think he's not going to hear it somewhere else? Hell no! Not the point. I think it was Marni who was recently talking about her kids making up their own cuss words. Well, the same thing's been happening around here. In fact, there's two new phrases added in the last week - "What the heyhawtie?" and "Jeepers McCreepers". I'm sure you can figure out both of them without me telling you what they're replacing. "Jeepers McCreepers" actually started out as "Jesus McCreepers" and was modified due to me being pretty damned sure the parochial school he attends wouldn't want him using "Jesus". After a couple other renditions including "Molly McCreepers" and something else I can't remember right now, he settled on "Jeepers McCreepers". Whatever works.

Uplifiting news: Turning things to a more serious topic, I am thrilled to report on the arrival of my new Victoria's Secret bras. Hehe! You may remember last week the reporting on my complete devastation in walking into a nearly empty VS at the local mall. Well, I remedied that one. Not only did I order and receive my precious uplifting bras, I got them at the 50% off price AND found an online coupon for FREE shipping. Ya know ya gotta love anything that's FREE!! The girls are happy, happy now! And if they're happy, I'm happy. Except for my ever growing muffin top that I still haven't done a damned thing about. I'll be blogging more about that one later today.

For now, I'm off to grab a quick shower, figure out what's for dinner (maybe one of Liss' new recipes), and park my butt in the recliner to watch football. With the Seahawks losing yesterday I haven't decided who I'm backing now, but if I were a betting woman (which I'm not) I'd say the Packers are a shoe in.

Thursday, January 10

Okay, I've got a gripe! And before anyone decides to bash me for my gripe, please read through the entire post. Then - and only then - if you still want to bash me.....go for it!Where I work we have three buildings that are connected to each other by breezeways. I work in the building in the back behind the main building. Pretty much everything that serves the entire site is located in the main building - the cafe, coffee bar, smoker's lounge, security office, etc. - so when we want something we stroll through one of the breezways to get to it.And that's where I was today.....when I saw it. You know what? That which has been seen can never be unseen. It's a pity, really. I was walking back to my cubicle with my yummy spiced chai tea in hand and up ahead there she was.

Picture this. White t-shirt, several sizes too big, with what looked like an also too big khaki fishing vest over the top. Black sweatpants that were really too short to be pants but too long to be capris. And these gawd awful fuzzy pink slipper looking shoes, sans socks. I swear they really were slippers but didn't get close enough to validate my guess. All of this was being worn by a fellow working "professional". And it isn't even Halloween. Jeez, oh man! C'mon!! Just because you're fat doesn't mean you have to come to work dressed like you literally just rolled out of bed.

I know some of you are thinking I'm bashing on fat people, but I'm not. There's a huge difference between being "fat", "big", "obese" or "overweight". No matter what you weigh, your height, your shape, or any other physical feature.....it DOES NOT give you the right to dress like a slob. Especially when you're at work.

Sunday, January 6

Well here we are, the end of the first week of the new year.....already! Sheesh! I sporadically posted Sunday Sweeps last year, but since we're into a new year and can start anew again, I'm going to attempt to make every Sunday a collection of random stuff that I didn't get around to posting during the week. We'll see how that works. Now on to the randomness.

The new year started quietly around here.....just the way I like it. I don't typically stay up to see the new year in. Just not my style. My folks had left New Year's Eve morning after a two week stay with us, the kiddo was in SoCal with his father, and I had the place to myself. Aaah! Since I don't make resolutions - for the new year, or otherwise - I debating on reposting my out with the old, and in with the new post from a couple years ago, but obviously didn't. So, if you want to read it, or re-read it if you've been with me that long, here's your chance. New Year's Day, after a quite morning at home, I headed down to the mall to see what I could nab with some of the awesome gift cards I scored for Christmas. My trip to Victoria's Secret was a bust (no pun intended) as they were ending their annual week of 50% sales and didn't have a single item in stock that I wanted. I had a little success at Macy's and Eddie Bauer.....oh, and Bath & Body Works too.....then headed home for some much needed R&R.

The work week totally sucked with the holiday stuffed there in the middle, and the next three days seemed to drag on like months. I did get a little good news at work, but I'll have to back up to a month or so ago to fill you in. Most of you know I'm working on contract right now. Well, my one year contract ends at the beginning of May, but since The Winnebago (the place I work) is still reorganizing (read as screwing up people's lives by laying them off) my business unit decided they'd no longer need me after the end of February. Gawd I love contract work.....not! Anyway, with all the shuffling that's going on, there's this other group that seems to need some additional help and is supposedly going to pick me up until at least the end of March, maybe a little longer. We'll see. I hope it all works out cuz I'm really not looking forward to being out of work again, and this time of the year sucks for finding a job.....decent or otherwise.

Yesterday was spent watching and playing (on the PS2) football. Did you see Seattle hold on over the Redskins? Woot!! Sorry to disappoint you, Chag. Unfortunately I can't say the same about Pittsburgh. Of course now this means we'll be heading to Green Bay next week (yikes!). As for the playing, good gawd that Madden '08 is a bitch. I was so totally confused and frustrated it completely killed the fun. Of course having a 7 year old trying to explain how it works doesn't help. Especially when said 7 year old has owned and played Madden '07 for a full year and plays it frequently. {sigh}

And that's about it for the week. Time to get off my arse and squeeze in some laundry and kitchen clean-up in between watching the games of the day. Hope you're weekend's been a good one!

Friday, January 4

I'm racing the clock here, even though it's Friday evening and most people are starting to unwind and relax. Don't get me wrong, I've got my beer cracked open beside me, will head up to put on my comfy flannels in a few short minutes, but right now I'm racing the clock against the building wind that's winding up outside. I figure if I get posting and all now I might buy myself some weather insurance.....ya know, the power won't go out because I've already posted. If I wait till later it's sure to screw with me.

Anyway, how was everyone's Friday? Can I tell you just how freakin' happy I am that the post holiday week is over!? Gawd the last two weeks seemed to go on forever. At the office one day, off for a couple days, back to the office again. Sheesh! With all the broken up worktime you'd think I'd be relaxed and happy, but it really seemed to be more of a PITA than anything.

I've still been reading and reading and reading all the posts ya'll have been making. Damn, where do you find so much to talk about? My comments are sparse but don't think I'm not keeping my eye on you.

Speaking of eyes, I was informed by a fairly reliable source that my last picture of my new specs wasn't truly the most flattering picture and didn't do them (or me) justice. So, I grabbed the camera this morning right before heading out the door and snapped a new one that hopefully meets with better approval. Please don't look at my hair. I can't believe how awful it's really looking these days, but hell.....what do I expect when it's been almost a year since I've cut or colored it. Yikes! Anyway, here's me again with my new specs.

Wednesday, January 2

He's back! And look what less than a week in Southern California's done to him. LOL That's right.....my Pacific Northwest boy's turned LA hip in a few short days.

He left here the day after Christmas for a week in SoCal with his dad, visiting his side of the family, and from all accounts had a terrific time. He had a third Christmas at his grandparent's (after the one here at home, and the second one at his dad's before they left), got to see his Aunt and Uncle's, hung out with his cousin every day, had a sleepover, played the Wii, stayed up too late, ate all the wrong foods, and went to Castle Park one day. Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but I'm sure glad it wasn't Disneyland since I've got plans to take him there later this year.

As much as I like to have some "me" time, it's great having him home again. We've even fallen right back into our usual routine - me on the computer and him playing his PS2 - which is probably a good thing since tomorrow we'll be hitting the routine hard with school starting back up and me having to remember how I get myself going, ready for work, him going, fed, clothed and dropped off at school and still make it to work at a reasonable hour.

Tuesday, January 1

Happy New Year my friends and fellow bloggers! I've really missed all of you over the past couple of weeks. I can honestly say this was the busiest holiday season I've ever had and I'm so happy it's over. Don't get me wrong, it was great for the most part.....just too busy.

I spent some time reading all your blogs over the weekend but didn't comment on each and every entry. If there's anything you think I might have missed and should definitely know about, let me know. I hate being left in the dark.

Here's a few snapshots of my past couple of weeks. I'll put more up on Flicker in the next few days and hope to be back to a more normal posting schedule again soon.

First Christmas present of the season.....a new iPod Shuffle.

The little man and a couple of his buddiesat the school Christmas program.

I finally broke down and had my eyes tested.The result.....new specs for me. {sigh}